The present invention relates to snowplows and particularly to an improved plow including a pivoted reverse scraping blade.
When removing snow from driveways and the like, it is frequently difficult to gain access to areas immediately adjacent garage doors where not infrequently winds cause drifting to occur. Conventional snowplow blades typically are concavely curved so as to effectively remove snow when moving in a forward direction. When the blade is lowered and the vehicle to which it is attached is moved in a reverse direction, the blade is wholly ineffectual in removing snow due to the curvature of the blade and the fact that it lifts up over the snow behind it. Thus, conventional blades cannot be used to reverse scrape snow from adjacent buildings.
One solution to this problem has been to use a separate blade attached to the rear of a snowplowing vehicle such as a pickup truck which can back up to the garage door, lower the rear blade, and pull the snow away from the garage such that it can then be removed by the normal front mounted snowplow blade. The addition of a separate blade and its associated hydraulic control system, however, is very costly to the snowplow operator.
The prior art discloses several plow blades which include lower scraper elements which are pivotally or flexibly mounted to the blade. Representative of such prior art are U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,055,291; 2,061,585; 2,337,434 and 3,793,752. The purpose of the movable scraper element in such prior art is to provide a movable plow element in the event the plow strikes an immovable object when traveling in a forward direction during plowing. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,044,916; 3,483,643 and 4,008,771 disclose plows or scrapers which can be employed in a pulling direction. The construction and operation of these systems, however, is wholly different than that of the present invention.